Augustine of Hippo preaches a sermon in Hippo Regius (Numidia, central North Africa) on the feast of the Ascension, when the interment of *Leontius (bishop of Hippo, S01685) was also celebrated in the same church. Sermon 262, delivered in Latin, possibly either in 411 or 422.
Evidence ID
E04399
Type of Evidence
Literary - Sermons/Homilies
Major author/Major anonymous work
Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo, Sermon 262.2
[In die ascensionis Domini. Habitus in basilica Leontiana.
'On the day of the Ascension of the Lord. Preached in the basilica Leontiana']
Hodiernum ergo diem ascensionis ipsius celebramus. Occurrit autem huic ecclesiae alia uernacula solemnitas. Conditoris basilicae huius sancti Leontii hodie depositio est. Sed dignetur obscurari stella a sole.
'Thus we are celebrating today the day of his Ascension. In this church, however, another, local solemnity falls. It is the day of the interment of the holy Leontius, the builder of this basilica. It is proper, however, that the star be obscured by the sun.'
In what follows Augustine does not refer anymore to Leontius or his feast.
Text: Patrologia Latina 38, 1208.
Translation and summary: Robert Wiśniewski.
Liturgical Activities
Eucharist associated with cult
FestivalsSaint’s feast
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesEcclesiastics - bishops
Source
Augustine of Hippo was born in 354 in the north African city of Thagaste. He received an education in rhetoric at Carthage, and after a period teaching there moved to Rome, and then in 384 to a public professorship of rhetoric in Milan. In these early years of adulthood Augustine was a Manichaean, but then got disillusioned with this religion, and in Milan in 386, largely under the influence of Ambrose, bishop of the city, he converted to Christianity, and was baptised by Ambrose in 387. Returning to Africa in 388, he was ordained a priest in 391 at Hippo Regius (in the province of Numidia), and rapidly acquired a reputation as a preacher. In 395 he became bishop of Hippo, which he remained until his death in 430. Details of his early life were recorded by Augustine himself in his Confessions, and shortly after his death a pupil and long-time friend, Possidius, wrote his Life, focused on Augustine as an effective Christian writer, polemicist and bishop (E00073).Amongst his many writings, the most informative on the cult of saints are his numerous Sermons, the City of God, and a treatise On the Care of the Dead. The Sermons tell us which saints (primarily African, but with some from abroad) received attention in Hippo, Carthage and elsewhere, and provide occasional details of miracles and cult practices. The City of God records the distribution, and subsequent miracles, of the relics of saint Stephen, after they arrived in Africa from Palestine in around 420. On the Care of the Dead, discusses the possible advantages of burial ad sanctos (in other words, close to a saint), and theorises on the link between the saints who dwell in heaven and their corporeal remains buried in their graves. In these works, and others, Augustine reveals his own particular beliefs about the saints, their relics and their miracles.
Hill 1993, 218, tentatively dates the feast of Leontius to 4 May. This dating is based on Letter 29 (E01837), in which Augustine refers to a sermon on the feast of Leontius which he preached forty days after Easter. Since this letter was written most probably in 395 and in that year Easter fell on 25 March, the feast of Leontius would have been celebrated on 4 May. If so, the present sermon would have to have been preached either in 411 or in 422, since only in these years did the feast of the Ascension fell on 4 May. This reconstruction, however, is highly insecure.
Discussion
Leontius is identified as a bishop of Hippo only in Augustine's Letter 29 (E01837). He is not mentioned in other sources.Bibliography
Edition:Migne, J.P., Patrologia Latina 38 (Paris, 1865).
Translation:
Hill, E., The Works of Saint Augustine: A Translation for the 21st Century, vol. III 7. Sermons 230-372B on the Liturgical Seasons (New York: New City Press, 1993).
Record Created By
Robert Wiśniewski
Date of Entry
23/08/2017
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S01685 | Leontius, bishop of Hippo, ob. 4th c.? | Leontius | Certain |
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Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL:
Robert Wiśniewski, Cult of Saints, E04399 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E04399